


Cal Zabo: Shipper On Board

by Persiflage



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Disabled Character, Domestic Fluff, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Kiss, First Time, Happy Go Cousy, Lola - Freeform, POV Phil Coulson, Phil Coulson: human disaster, Road Trips, Slow Burn, Sort Of, not s3 compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-28 10:42:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15047105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persiflage/pseuds/Persiflage
Summary: S3 AU: Daisy and Coulson take a road trip to visit Dr Winslow.





	Cal Zabo: Shipper On Board

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zauberer_sirin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zauberer_sirin/gifts).



> Written for the Happy Go Cousy event at Johnson & Coulson on Tumblr.
> 
> I have no idea where the idea for this came from, but I am very much into S3 AUs where we don't have to put with Price and Campbell...

“I’m thinking, with the emergence of the ATCU and the Watchdogs, it might be a good idea to upgrade Cal’s –” 

As he watches Daisy catch herself and hesitate before correcting the name, he’s reminded of his own struggles to get her new name right. She must be thinking the same thing because she quickly grabs his wrist and clasps it before continuing.

“Dr Winslow’s security.”

“You think he might be at risk, even though you made sure there was no paper or electronic trail leading back to us?” Coulson asks, feeling a little confused, because knowing Daisy’s thoroughness, how important Cal is to her, and her skills, he’d be surprised if either the Watchdogs or the ATCU could sniff out any link between Agent Daisy Johnson and the veterinarian Dr Winslow. 

Something flashes in her eyes, guilt maybe, and he realises that this isn’t just about upgrading the security at Dr Winslow’s veterinary practice. “Of course,” he says smoothly, because if she needs a way to justify a second visit to see the man her father’s become, then he’s not going to put obstacles in her way. “When do you want to go?”

He checks the roster for upcoming missions and notes that she has a few free days this week. “Tuesday?” he suggests.

“If you can spare me?” she asks, her expression a mixture of hope and diffidence.

“I think we can both be spared then,” he says.

Her face lights up at the idea of him accompanying her, then falls again, and he is pretty sure he knows what she’s going to say next. “Is it a good idea, you coming too? Won’t you be needed here?”

“May can manage without me for a couple of days,” he says, “and I’d prefer that you don’t go alone.” 

He’s grateful that she happily accepts this, and doesn’t point out that either Mack, as her field partner, or May, as her SO, would be a more practical choice than the actual Director of SHIELD. He doesn’t want to examine why he doesn’t ask one of them to go with her.

DJ-PC-DJ-PC-DJ

Tuesday sees them setting off nice and early in Lola. Daisy had been a little surprised when he’d told her to pack an overnight bag to bring with her, but she hadn’t voiced any objection – in fact she seemed thrilled at the prospect of their road trip.

He purposely dresses down for the trip, wearing black jeans and a black polo shirt under a light zippered coat, and wearing a leather glove on his right hand to match the one on his prosthetic. He sees Daisy checking him out, lips pursed in clear approval, and he can’t help feeling encouraged by it – he’s still getting to grips with the prosthetic, and a second enormous change to his body (though he suspects that losing a hand can’t match having your body undergo Terrigenesis), and having a gorgeous young woman give him approving looks, even if she doesn’t think of him _like that_ is empowering.

“You can drive,” he tells her, holding out Lola’s keys, and her face lights up like he’s just given her the best ever Christmas present.

“Are you sure?” she asks. “I thought you’d want to drive now that you can.”

“Are you saying you don’t want to?” he teases, drawing back his outstretched hand with the keys resting on his palm.

“I want!” she says emphatically and practically snatches Lola’s keys from him, making him chuckle as he rounds the car and climbs into the passenger seat. “Thank you.”

“I like watching you drive,” he confesses, and she gives him a big grin at that.

“I like driving Lola,” she tells him.

“Mmm, I don’t think I noticed that.”

She laughs, settling herself behind the wheel after giving the car a quick once over. “Sure, Phil,” she says, throwing him a glance – he presumes that’s to check that it’s still acceptable to call him Phil. 

He’d suggested it to her when he’d been struggling much more with her name change from Skye, thinking that it’d put them on an equal footing, but it hadn’t, of course – Daisy had taken the change to calling him Phil with an ease that embarrassed him. It’s still new enough though that he gets a huge thrill out of it when she does call him that rather than Coulson. He’s noticed that she tends to call him Coulson when they’re around others, but calls him Phil when they’re on their own.

The drive goes smoothly, and they pause for coffee and donuts about half way since they’re not clear when they’ll get to eat lunch, and he finds himself telling her about the time he thwarted a robbery at a gas station while on the way to look at Thor’s hammer. She listens with rapt attention, and bumps her shoulder against his when he finishes. 

“What a hero, Phil,” she says, and her tone’s too sincere for her to be teasing him, but he feels her admiration is misplaced. He doesn’t say so, however, because it’s nice to have Daisy, who is an actual-for-real superhero, call him heroic.

They arrive at Dr Winslow’s around 11am, and head straight inside. She assures him she’s got a cover story worked out, and a way to get a look at Cal’s computer system, so he let’s her take the lead. 

Daisy breezes straight up to the desk, behind which Cal is sitting, filling out some paperwork. The waiting area is empty at the moment, which is lucky for them.

“Hi,” Daisy says brightly, and Cal lifts his head, then gives her a very warm smile, before spotting Coulson a few paces behind Daisy.

“Hi,” he returns. “What can I do for you folks?”

“I’m thinking about getting a pet for my boyfriend,” she begins, half turning and jerking a thumb in Coulson’s direction to make it quite clear she means him. 

He feels himself freeze up for a moment, before stepping closer to her back. 

“I’m gone a lot because of work and he gets lonely without me, so I was thinking a pet would be good company for him. But an older animal, maybe a rescue, that requires less training since he’s also pretty busy most of the time.”

“What a great idea,” Cal says enthusiastically. He beams at Coulson, and he can’t help smiling back because all he’d ever wanted was to be in Cal’s good books, given how much they both cared about Daisy. “You’ve obviously given this some thought.”

“I have,” agrees Daisy. “I know how hard it can be to rehome older animals.” She reaches out and snags Coulson’s arm, pulling him in close. “I’ve got a lot more responsibility at work just lately, and it means being out of town sometimes for 2 or 3 nights at a time.”

“What line of work are you in?” asks Cal, as he reaches out and jiggles the mouse to wake up his computer.

Daisy nods at it. “Computers. Specifically security.”

“Security?” Cal repeats, looking a little bemused.

She nods again. “Yeah, you know – making sure your system’s protected from viruses and hackers, making sure your data’s backed up securely, all that kind of thing.”

He looks perplexed, staring at the screen, then looks up at her. “I, uh, I had no idea that was important,” he admits sheepishly.

“Want me to take a look at it for you?” she suggests. “Maybe I can come back after you close for the day, so I won’t be getting in your way.”

“Oh, but you must have more important things to do,” Cal says. “Why would you do that for a stranger?”

“That’s Daisy,” Coulson chips in. “She can’t help herself when it comes to helping out others. She’s very, very good at her job.”

Cal gives a helpless sort of shrug. “Okay then, if you’re sure.”

“I’m sure,” Daisy agrees firmly.

Cal nods, then says, “So, a pet for your boyfriend. Did you have something in mind?”

“A dog? Not a big dog, or one that needs excessive amounts of exercise.”

“Why don’t you come through and take a look at what dogs I have waiting for homes,” Cal suggests, and walks towards the back of the reception area to collect some keys.

“I’m your boyfriend?” Coulson mutters to Daisy, who turns and grins at him, but he can see a hint of apology in her eyes.

“Seemed easiest,” she says. 

He shakes his head slightly, then says, “Okay.”

Cal comes out from behind the reception desk, and gestures for them to follow him. Within a short time they find themselves in a large building behind the building they entered, inside of which are a handful of rooms: one contains dogs, a handful of puppies of under a year, Cal tells them, together with a dozen or so older dogs around 5 or 6 years old.

They spend about 30 minutes making a fuss of all the dogs, and Daisy declares a liking for an older French Bulldog, which Coulson easily agrees seems both cute and laid back, but he expresses doubts about its suitability for them, and Daisy apologetically asks Cal if they can think about it before making a decision.

“Of course,” Cal agrees easily. “I never rush anyone into taking a pet until they’re absolutely certain the animal is right for them.”

Coulson nods, then asks Daisy, as casually as if he asks this every day, “Where do you want to have lunch, darling?” 

“Perhaps Dr Winslow can recommend somewhere,” she suggests, turning to Cal as he walks them back to the other building.

“You’re from out of town?” he asks, looking slightly puzzled.

Daisy nods. “We’re moving up here in a few weeks, though. Well, that’s if Phil’s company gets their act together and finalise the move. It’s been dragging on for months. We had a couple of days free, though, and thought we’d scout the town.”

“Did you book ahead for a hotel room?” Cal asks anxiously.

“No,” Coulson says. “I didn’t think it would be necessary in such a large town.”

Cal winces, his hand touching Daisy’s shoulder as he leads the way over to the reception desk. “Unfortunately, there’s two big conventions going on in town right now, and all the hotels will be jammed.” He sits down at his computer and taps a few keys, then shakes his head, and turns the screen towards them, showing that all the hotels are indeed fully booked.

“Tell you what,” he says after Coulson and Daisy have exchanged concerned looks. “I’ve got a guest room in my apartment upstairs. Why don’t you use that? It’s the least I can do since Daisy’s going to fix up my computer security.”

“Thank you, Dr Winslow, that’s very kind,” Daisy says promptly.

He shakes his head. “You seem like good folks,” he says, beaming at them both.

Coulson does his best to hide a wince of dismay behind a smile. He hadn’t bargained on sharing a room, much less a bed, with Daisy, but now she’s accepted Cal’s generous offer, there’s no way he can object without it looking weird.

“I’ll just have to pick up some supplies later,” Cal tells them. “I’ll go after I close the office.”

“Why don’t you let us do that?” Coulson suggests. “Just give me a list and we’ll get whatever you need.”

Cal nods, and pulls a notepad towards himself, writing out the list in large capital letters, and Coulson hides a smile, thinking of the traditional assumption that a doctor’s handwriting is always difficult to read.

“You should let Phil cook,” Daisy tells Cal. “He’s really good, but he doesn’t get much chance to practice.”

Cal tilts his head, a mannerism that’s achingly familiar from Daisy, then smiles. “Why not,” he agrees. He passes Coulson the list, and they tell him they’ll return around 5pm.

He gives them a couple of recommendations for places to have lunch, then waves at them just as an older couple comes through the door with two cats in carriers.

Once they’re outside, Coulson asks, “Are you going to be okay with sharing a room with me tonight?”

“We’ll be sharing a bed, Phil,” she says. “Will you be okay with that? Because it doesn’t bother me.”

He swallows, then nods. He can’t say ‘No’, because she’ll assume that she’s the problem, not that his feelings for her are the problem. It’s not Daisy’s fault he’s hopelessly in love with her and has been for a long time.

“Good,” she says, then slips her arm through his and sets off down the street, her cell phone in her other hand as she checks their possible lunch destinations.

Coulson does his best to calm his heart rate and breathing, and to pretend that he doesn’t want to do this every day. The rest of today is going to be a form of torture he realises.

DJ-PC-DJ-PC-DJ

They arrive back at Cal’s office just before 5pm, each carrying a paper sack of groceries, and Cal locks up, then leaves Daisy to work on his computer before leading Coulson upstairs to the apartment. 

“Oh, your bags,” Cal says, looking around vaguely.

“Don’t worry, Daisy will fetch them once she’s finished downstairs – and she works very fast. It’ll only take her a couple of hours at most to fix up all your security and ensure your data’s properly backed up.”

“She’s a nice young woman,” Cal observes. “And very talented.”

_You don’t know the half of it_ , Coulson thinks with a fond smile. “Yes she is.” 

They set the groceries on the kitchen table, but Cal insists on showing him the guest room before he begins cooking. It’s clean and pleasant with warm colours to the soft furnishings, and a nice view across the town. The bed, despite being a King, looks tiny to his fearful mind, but he thanks Cal and tells him that he’s sure he and Daisy will be very comfortable.

Once downstairs he forgets his worries about the night to come in cooking with Cal as his amiable assistant. They talk cooking and food generally, and Coulson’s begun to feel quite relaxed when Cal surprises him with the observation that he’s a bit older than Daisy, and Coulson almost panics, thinking of pre-TAHITI-Cal’s insistence that he, not Phil Coulson, was Daisy’s father. Fortunately, though, Daisy had suggested over lunch that they sort out their cover story for how they first met. Coulson had thought it unnecessary but she’d been certain it would come up, and now he’s deeply grateful for her foresight.

“She moved in to the apartment next to mine and had trouble with a closet door that wouldn’t stay closed. With half her stuff still to unpack, she couldn’t find her tools to fix it so she came and knocked on my door to see if I had any. We hit it off straight away and started dating after a couple of months. I was a bit wary about the age difference, but she didn’t care, and being with her I tended to forget about it myself. We’ve been living together for a couple of years, and would like to get married in a couple more years, once we’ve got enough saved.”

Coulson had expressed doubts about the last part of their cover story, but Daisy had assured him that Cal would think more highly of him if he said he wanted to marry her.

“He might not remember he’s my father, but most of his underlying personality’s the same. He’ll think it only right and proper that you’d want to marry me.”

Cal immediately proves Daisy’s instincts right by exclaiming over the pleasures of married life, and Coulson remembers that both Cal and Daisy had asked that his TAHITI protocol make him a widower with only good memories of Jiaying.

Luckily, Daisy comes in five minutes later and saves him from trying to invent details he doesn’t have about the wedding.

“I’m all done,” she tells them cheerfully. “I came to get Cal’s keys, and Lola’s, so I can fetch our bags.”

“Lola?” asks Cal, mystified.

Daisy laughs as she accepts Lola’s keys from Coulson. “Didn’t he tell you? He named his car. Lola.”

Cal chuckles as he hands over his keys. “No, he hadn’t mentioned that.”

“Probably too embarrassed,” Daisy says as she heads for the door.

“Am not,” Coulson calls after her, then to Cal, “I’m not embarrassed. I just didn’t think it was relevant.”

Cal chuckles again, slaps him lightly on the shoulder, then starts laying the table. 

“This is nice,” Daisy says once they’re all settled down around the table together.

“It is,” Coulson agrees emphatically. He might be dreading the prospect of sharing a bed with her later, but this part is definitely nice.

They sit talking after they’ve eaten until Cal insists on dealing with the clearing up. “I daresay you kids want to use the bathroom,” he observes. “So I’ll leave you to do that while I clear up in here, then go and check the animals.” He waves them off before either one of them can object, so they go, Daisy’s arm around Coulson’s waist and he tries very hard not to like how good it feels.

“You kids?” he repeats once they’re in the guest room. “I assume he’s failed to realise I’m 3 years older than him.”

Daisy chuckles, then turns to face him fully and grabs his wrists. “Thank you for agreeing to let me come today,” she says softly. “It means such a lot. And thank you for coming with, that means even more.”

“You’re welcome,” he tells her sincerely.

She seems to hesitate for a moment, then she moves in to hug him and he’s surprised by how easy he finds it to embrace her in return. They remain holding each other for several minutes before she finally pulls back a bit, and he notices she looks close to tears.

“Do you want first dibs on the bathroom?” he asks.

She shakes her head. “I want to check Cal’s computer security first. I set up a program to run from the Playground to simulate an external attack. I want to run that and check everything’s as it should be, so you go ahead.”

He nods, then draws himself away from her with more reluctance than he’d like, and makes himself dig into his overnight bag for his toiletries and sleepwear. 

When he comes back into the guest room, he finds Daisy’s curled up in the chair in the corner, poring over her tablet. She’s already changed into the t-shirt, sweater, and sweatpants she normally wears to bed, and she looks tired but content, and the sight of her does things to him that make him inarticulate. When she looks up and smiles at the sight of him (similarly dressed), he finds it easy to smile back, but harder not to approach her and start kissing her.

“Okay?” she asks, and he nods, swallows, then asks, in a stupidly husky voice, “You?”

She nods back. “All good,” she tells him. Then she gestures at the bed. “Which side do you prefer?”

“Um, right,” he manages to get out, and she nods again, sets the tablet down on the left hand nightstand, then grabs her toiletries bag and walks away.

As soon as she’s gone he sits down on the side of the bed and puts his head in his hands. He’s not sure he can do this: he knows he needs to be professional and stoic, to act like there’s nothing out of the ordinary in sharing a bed with Daisy, but stoic is the last thing he feels – this is _Daisy_ , and he loves her so much it’s making him stupidly nervous.

He’s so up in his head that Daisy’s hand on his shoulder startles him badly, and she gives him a concerned look when he almost falls off the bed in surprise.

“You okay, Phil?” she asks worriedly.

“Yeah,” he says. “Sorry. Director stuff.”

Luckily she seems to accept this excuse, and he gets to his feet and moves around the bed to the side he’d picked. While he’s getting settled Daisy picks up the tablet and checks the screen, then fiddles with it a moment before setting it back down.

“Everything’s looking good so far,” she tells him with obvious cheerfulness. “I’m going to leave the program running overnight, just to be sure. But I’ve muted the audio notifications for if it finds anything.”

Coulson nods, and she sits down on the side of the bed, then swings her legs up and stretches out under the covers.

Once she’s settled he switches off the bedside light, then tries to settle himself. He’s lying still and rigid as a plank when Daisy’s hand touches his arm, close to where the prosthetic joins his arm.

“Phil, are you sure you’re okay? Your vibrations are all clustered closely, like you’re tense. Is it because we’re sharing a bed?” He manages to agree, and she marginally tightens her clasp. “Am _I_ making you uncomfortable?”

“Yes, but it’s not your fault,” he insists. “I’m just not used to sleeping with someone. I mean, sharing a bed, not sleeping with –”

Her soft laughter silences his flustered attempts to explain without actually telling her the real reason for his discomfort.

“It’s okay, Phil, I get it. I’m not used to sharing a bed either. But it’ll be okay. It’s just you and me in the same bed, it’s no big deal, I promise.” 

He feels her shifting about next to him, and then her arms are sliding around his torso and he finds himself relaxing despite her increased proximity. Or perhaps it’s because she’s so close.

“Go to sleep, Phil,” she says quietly. “I’ve got you.”

He sighs softly, then allows his muscles to relax properly, and eventually he feels himself drifting towards sleep.

DJ-PC-DJ-PC-DJ

He awakes in the middle of the night to find they’ve shifted positions and are cuddled together, Daisy’s back to his chest and, embarrassingly, her ass pressed against his crotch, and his half-hard cock. He’d pull away (even though a large part of him doesn’t want to move away at all) but his arms are wrapped around her torso, and her arms are locked over his so if he tries to pull away, he’ll wake her up – and that might actually be worse.

While he’s still flailing around mentally, trying to decide whether or not to try to free himself, she stirs in his arms.

“Phil? You okay?” she asks.

“How’d you know I was awake?” he asks in confusion.

“Vibrations,” she says, and moves until she’s facing him. “Apparently I can sense yours even when you’re asleep – or not as the case may be, and even when I’m asleep too.” She huffs a soft laugh. “Did that even make any sense?”

“It did,” he assures her.

“Good.” She insinuates her arms around him again. “So are you okay? Or did you just wake up because you need to pee?”

“Yeah,” he agrees, because it’s the easiest lie. And with any luck he’ll be able to calm his cock down if he’s not lying with his arms full of Daisy’s gorgeous body.

“Okay.” She pulls away, and he bites back a moan of disappointment, then blinks when she switches on the light on the nightstand.

He makes himself climb out of the warm bed and stumble towards the bathroom. When he returns and slides back under the covers Daisy immediately cuddles up to him again.

“It’s very nice sleeping with you, Phil,” she tells him, sounding sleepy and happy.

“Likewise,” he tells her, because it is nice, even if it’s simultaneously torture.

He’s a bit shocked, though, when he feels her lips tracing along his jaw. “Daisy?” he whispers, simultaneously terrified and excited.

“It’s okay, Phil,” she says softly. “I’ve got you.”

Another moment and her lips are on his, and he can’t stop a whimper from escaping when she nips at his lower lip, then laves her tongue over the spot before kissing him properly. He doesn’t make a conscious decision to open his mouth to hers but he soon feels her tongue sliding over his before it curls up to touch the roof of his mouth. He makes a strangled sort of noise in the back of his throat when she follows this up by moving her body over his, her core pressed against his cock, which is already half-hard again.

“Daisy,” he mutters as her mouth moves along his jaw, little biting, sucking kisses that make him increasingly hard. She begins to rock her hips, and he moans and clutches her waist. “Fuck!”

“Yes,” she agrees. Then she lifts her head and stares at him. “Do you want to? Because I’ve been aching to fuck you for ages.”

“You have?” he asks, rather startled by this information.

“Actually since you gave me a ride in your flying car,” she says. “But it’s intensified since – well, since I effectively lost my parents and you lost your hand.”

“You’ve been flirting with me,” he observes and she smirks. “But we’ve always flirted.”

She rolls her eyes, then lowers her head to kiss him deeply, as she rocks harder over his thickened cock. “So what d’you say, Phil? Wanna fuck?”

“Oh god, Daisy, yes,” he moans and insinuates his right hand into her sweatpants. He’s not really surprised to find she’s already very slick with arousal. 

Somehow they manage to manoeuvre their sweatpants down and off without Daisy actually climbing off him, and then she produces a condom and rolls it down his cock.

“That’s so hot,” he whispers, and she gives him a very big grin, then clasps the base and sinks down onto him. He does his best not to groan too loudly, after all Daisy’s father is sleeping just across the hall. 

Then she begins to move and he entirely forgets about Cal, about SHIELD and whether or not this is a good move even if he’s done away with Levels. In fact he can’t think about anything except how wonderful Daisy’s weight on his body feels, and how mind-blowingly good it feels to finally be having sex with her.

She controls the pace, which is absolutely fine by him – he likes a woman who knows what she wants when he’s having sex with her. She lowers her head so her mouth is by his ear and he shudders in pleasure when she speaks, her breath hot against his flesh, then shudders some more when he registers her words: “At some point, I want you to bend me over on Lola’s hood and fuck me, Director.”

His hips buck upwards involuntarily at her words, and she laughs softly, then picks up the pace, and as she climaxes a second time, she says, in a very stern tone that he’s never heard before, “Come for me, Phil.”

He obeys.


End file.
